Apologies for the noob question but my knowledge of exhausts is minimal. I've got an 06 E90 325i SE and love it. However, I don't love the nasty looking stock small dirty black exhaust pipes.

Firstly I thought I'd just get some OEM chrome tips to put over them. But then I thought about replacing the back box for a better sound as well and killing two birds with one stone.

I love the engine sound but feel I can hear very little from the exhaust so I'm looking to get a slightly louder, throatier and rougher sound, but am open to opinions.

Firstly, could someone confirm what parts I would need to change to change the sound of the exhaust? Ideally I'm not looking to get a full system and I'm not interested in the performance gains of a full system as I feel they are minimal given the cost involved. Instead I'm looking to change as little as I need to in order to get a better and louder sound. I'm not looking for something crazy loud just something that creates a slightly louder and sportier sound.

Can anyone recommend any UK manufacturers?? I've read some stuff about Rogue Engineering and Magnaflow. Alternatively I've read/heard the BMW PE is good, but expect that will be pricey. Budget is roughly £350 ish.

Thinking about a muffler delete now. It seems the resonator delete gives for a rougher, rattlier sound, whereas I'm hoping to go for a deeper, smoother, fuller tone which I believe the muffler delete goes some way to helping?

Do you happen to know if the muffler delete is easily reversible or not? I've read a fair bit of debate about whether welding is or is not involved in the muffler delete mod.

You'l have to get under the car and have a look at the pipework associated with your muffler. My 325i is 2009, so direct injection. The pipe into the muffler is quite long and has a bolted flange. But I've seen others where you would deffo need to cut (and then weld).

According to RealOEM the pipe work that is welded into the front of the muffler is a bolted flange just behind the resonator. So thinking I might fork out extra for additional pipework but at the saving of not having to cut and weld anything.

According to RealOEM the pipe work that is welded into the front of the muffler is a bolted flange just behind the resonator. So thinking I might fork out extra for additional pipework but at the saving of not having to cut and weld anything.

Stainless pipe all the way, or just standard stuff with chrome tips?

Do the tips contribute much other than to the look?

First Post:

Hi guys, I'm in the same situation with an 06 325i which is N52

From what I can see from realoem for my chassis no. It is just a pipe from front to back and would need to be cut, although welding would not be required. I am a BMW apprentice and when we do exhaust work for example changing a back box or cat all we do is cut it and use an exhaust clamp which works fine.

I would suggest if you speak to longlife or maybe power flow about making pipes, that you ask them to cut and clamp it rather than welding as this would give you the easy option to change back to standard.

I would suggest if you speak to longlife or maybe power flow about making pipes, that you ask them to cut and clamp it rather than welding as this would give you the easy option to change back to standard.

Part No. For OEM clamp: 18307536426

Cheers for that mate. However, it seems from realOEM that the parts are already clamped together not welded? If this is not the case, then what is happening on the diagram above number 19?

For a "muffler delete" ... you just cut off your muffler and replace it with straight piping. That's it. If you want to add your muffler back just weld it back on. Nothing complicated. Should cost you 100 quid including new tips

Ah I can now see where you are coming from, that diagram is only for ordering replacement parts, that allows you to not have to buy a complete exhaust system. From the factory your exhaust will be one item from the cats back, part 19 is the clamp that you use when joining a replacement part, which is why they are shown as seperate parts. Hope that makes sense

Apart from the convenience of being able to clamp the original muffler back on at any stage, is there any difference between having the new "staight pipes" welded on vs. clamped on? Do the clamps provide a good snug fit to ensure there is no blowing from the exhaust at the join?

Obviously welding would provide a permanent join, but as I said earlier when carrying out exhaust repairs on BMW/Mini systems we never weld them, only use clamps which are very good and in my experience never leak. Also if it is a BMW approved method of repair it must be ok

Thanks for that Mike. I spoke to them earlier in the week and they quoted me £350 inc. VAT for a T304 stainless back box. I take it given your location, you spoke to the Ashford branch? I was in contact with the Basingstoke branch, though I would expect there should be no difference in price.

Are you planning to go for a full back box or just a muffler delete? Can't decide whether it's worth the extra for a full b/b or not. ?????

That was from ashford yes. I think I will go for the back box because you will be able to choose how loud you want it, and I am also thinking that no back box would cause massive droning issues on the motorway, and for 260 quid and lifetime Warranty not a bad price in my opinion

In an ideal world, I'd love a P/E but not sure I can justify that not insignificant sum of money!

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, the back box simply serves the purpose of noise reduction and has no effect on MOT emmisions. Thus the removal of it should hopefully provide me with a sportier sound but without the expense of a full system.

I test drove a 325i M-Sport which had the P/E exhaust, and I loved the sound!
When I picked up my 325i SE with no P/E I was slightly disappointed how quiet the car is.

This looks promising.
Does deleting the Back box not cause the car to fail its MOT on emissions? Is it really just a redundant part?

It isn't redundant as such, it's purpose is to remove noise, but because it is after the cat it will have no effect on emissions. I wanted the PE as it does sound awesome but for my car they don't list it for a manual on EPC which is annoying, but I will try and recreate that sort of sound from my longlife system

That was from ashford yes. I think I will go for the back box because you will be able to choose how loud you want it, and I am also thinking that no back box would cause massive droning issues on the motorway, and for 260 quid and lifetime Warranty not a bad price in my opinion

Sounds good mate. Yeah for £260 I would go for the full back box as well. Might question the Basingstoke branch about the extra expense.

I guess if I just went for a muffler removal mod to then find out that the droning is unbearable, I could always get a back box built and the whole exercise would cost little more than getting the whole back box first time round. Slightly roundabout way of doing it I know, but will see.